On Friday 27 February, Big Think partner PwC hosted its second global webcast focused on the question, ‘What would you do if you were not afraid?’ The webcast was part of ‘Aspire to Lead: The PwC Women’s...

If you're older than 30, you're not attractive to venture capitalists

Looks like the old Don't Trust Anyone Over 30 maxim that was popular during the rebellious 1960's has been re-mixed by Baby Boomer Silicon Valley venture capitalists to become "Don't Fund Anyone Over 30." In the New York Times, Dan Mitchell points to a recent piece by Steven Levy in Newsweek describing the renewed emphasis on providing VC backing to youthful founders:

It is “dramatically cheaper to start a company now,” he wrote, so it
is substantially easier to build a business, sometimes without needing
venture capital. “Software tools, which used to cost hundreds of
thousands, are now largely free,” while computer equipment and
bandwidth are much less expensive. All that is great, as long as you are not too old. “The old wisdom
for investors in start-ups said you needed an experienced hand as a
C.E.O.” Mr. Levy wrote. “The Valley’s new wisdom: don’t fund anyone
over 30."

According to anecdotal evidence, the most spectacular
technology start-ups over the past 30 years have been launched by founders still in their 20s. In fact, the “peak age” for entrepreneurs appears to be 26: “Within a year of that age were Google’s Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Apple’s Steve Wozniak, Yahoo’s Jerry Yang, Skype’s Janus Friis, Chad Hurley from YouTube, and Tom Anderson from MySpace.”